Touch screen devices are operated by physically touching the screen of the device, either with a finger or a suitable mechanical device such as a pen or stylus. In the case of smaller touch-screen devices such as PDAs, a suitable stylus is normally provided with the device. The stylus, when not in use, is usually stored in a pocket or slot in, or on, the device itself.
A problem with such arrangements is that once the stylus is removed from its pocket or slot, it becomes very easy to lose. The stylus may also simply fall out of its pocket whilst the device is being carried, and be lost.
It is possible to mechanically fix the stylus to the device by means of a flexible attachment or tethering cord, such as a piece of string, thin rope, or flexible plastic.
One problem with such a mechanical fixing arrangement is that the flexible attachment must be long enough, to provide the user with sufficient freedom to “write” on all parts of the screen with the stylus. This means, that when the stylus is in its pocket or slot the long flexible attachment is unrestrained, and becomes very obtrusive.
It is possible to make the flexible attachment short, in order to avoid this problem, thereby limiting its range of movement. However, this makes using the stylus very difficult and frustrating for the user.
Other concepts utilising sprung mechanical mechanisms or retractable tethering cords are complex, prone to failure and expensive. Furthermore, such sprung mechanical mechanisms influence the continued use of the stylus, in that they tend to pull the stylus in the direction of the pocket and therefore require an increased ‘loose’ space inside the device to receive the sprung mechanism.
Thus, there is a need for an improved, low-cost, robust stylus tethering arrangement for touch screen devices, which aims to alleviate the problems associated with existing arrangements.